Campus Chronicles with Ben Parker & Braeden Rigney

Last weekend at Air Force was definitely the highlight of the year for most members of our team. We swept the weekend with two very close games where we scored with nine seconds left to win the first contest and in overtime to win the second. We now have won six-consecutive games, which is a great accomplishment for our group as we had set a goal at the beginning of the year to win five in a row and it was great to reach that mark.

It is not easy to sweep a weekend in Air Force, as the long travel schedule and the altitude definitely do not play in our favor. It took a lot of character from our players to get the job done in two games.

Because of our great success the past two weekends we have earned ourselves a spot back at the final four tournament in Rochester, where the games are played at the Blue Cross Arena and home of the AHL Rochester Americans. After finishing in seventh position at the end of the regular season, everyone on our team was a little disappointed as we collectively believed our team was better than seventh place. We have used the first two rounds of playoffs as our chance to prove that to ourselves and everyone else. Although we have had several ups and downs this year, our team has proven to be a top contender in our league, which is now evident with our place in the final tournament.

For myself , and the three other seniors, this marks the second time in our four years that we have made it to our league tournament. We all feel much more optimistic about our chances this time around as last time we lost out to an RIT team that advanced all the way to the Frozen Four. Our team is playing the best hockey of the year and it is very exciting to think about playing for our league title this weekend.

Our first opponent this weekend will be our arch rivals – the Niagara Purple Eagles. We have played the Eagles three times this year and every game has been extremely close. We did beat them at home earlier in the year which is always a great feeling. I believe this weekend will feature a similar game that will be very close and could come down to one or two bounces.

I know I speak for the whole team when I say we will put forth our best effort this weekend and try to make it to the finals at all costs.

If you can make it to Rochester to support us, that is greatly appreciated. If not you can always tune in from home. As always we appreciate your support and hope to see you at the rink this weekend.